Closure
by Ceruleanx
Summary: As everyone who has read the manga knows, Nana remains unfinished with no sign of continuing due to the mangaka's undisclosed illness. As it ends in possibly the worst place in history, I'm writing a fan fiction that takes place where the manga left off. I obviously don't know for sure where the story was headed, so I'm continuing on with plausible fan theories.
1. Chapter 1

Nobu

I take Asami outside. It's snowing, and I didn't put on a jacket. I didn't mean to take her outside. My feet were moving on their own, and I wasn't aware until they hit the icy cement outside. Asami isn't wearing a jacket either, and she's already shivering. I have to make this quick.

"Asami, I-"

"It's her, isn't it?" Asami asks, looking at the ground, but I see the tears glistening.

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"I see the way you look at her."

"Asami-"

"Whatever, Nobu." She storms back inside.

I stare at the ground. The snow's melting on contact with my body. I walk back inside, past the doorman who asks a question that I ignore. Would Asami go back to room with everyone? My stomach drops as I walk down the hallway and take the elevator back to the room. She's gone, and so is Miu.

Nana chugs the rest of her beer before she picks another song to sing. She starts singing, and Yasu won't stop watching me.

"Want to talk about it?" Yasu asks.

"No." I reply.

"Hachi is still with Takumi."

"Don't remind me."

"Just take her back from the demon overlord." Nana yells to the tune of her song.

"I doubt she'd want that. Takumi has everything that I can't give her." I say.

"When things settle down, talk to her." Yasu says, and he turns his attention to Nana.

I take a fresh can of beer from the table, and I open it, but I don't drink it. I play with the tab. The thought of my precious Hachiko with Takumi makes me sick beyond compare. He doesn't deserve her.

Hachi and Shin are laughing when they return from heating sake in Yasu's room. Yasu looks over at me, but I ignore him. It's quiet, except for Nana's loud singing and Hachiko's laughter.

I restrain the impulse to take Hachi out of the room and make her mine. That wouldn't help anyone right now. Takumi was pretty clear about what he wanted, and what was expected of me. I can't jeopardize Hachiko or the baby like that.

Hachi holds the warm sake and pours Yasu's drink first. When she pours mine, she gives me a smile, and I catch the subtle whiff of her perfume, making my heart stop. Hachi always smells like the springtime to me.

It's too quiet. Why is it so quiet? I looked over to the karaoke machine. Nana has disappeared. Did what Asami said to her, about whether or not she needs Hachi, bother her that much?

Nana O.

Why wouldn't I need Hachiko?

I stare out the window, watching the snow drift, a cigarette hanging from my lips. I've already been abandoned by that guy- whose name was not to be mentioned ever. Yasu was dating Miu- who was nice, but that left a lot less time for Yasu to tend to my needs. He also spent a lot of time with Takumi, talking business or whatever. I feel like I can't completely trust someone who spends so much time with Takumi, even Yasu.

I clench my fists. Trapnest has taken away everything I love. Trapnest is the reason Ren died.

My heart flutters. My fingernails dig so deep into my palm that they're breaking skin. Blood drips down my hand and onto the floor.

I stand up and walk over to the wall, and punch the wall as hard as I can. My hand and wrist throb, but I don't care. I punch again, and again, and hell, I throw in a couple kicks. I lose my balance on the second kick, and fall backwards onto my ass, landing on my hands, and I hear a crack. I stand up and look around the room, and pick up the lamp by the bed. I throw it across the room, smashing it against the wall, leaving a large dent in the drywall. I flip over the bed, and then kick over the nightstand.

I turn to open the window. It's small, but I'd properly be able to squeeze through. The freezing weather makes it difficult to open. Piece of shit window. I manage to open the window a couple inches when I hear the bedroom door behind me, and suddenly hands are restraining me. I struggle against whoever is holding me back, swearing.

Hachi appears from behind me and closes the window. Baldy picks me up over his shoulder and carries me to the communal living room. I continue to swear, thrashing in his arms, calling him every bad name I can think of. Nobu, Shin, and Hachi trail behind Yasu.

He drops me on the couch. Hachi sits next to me, and takes my hands. Her hands are so cold. Nobu looks nervous, but doesn't say anything. I squeeze Hachi's hands and she returns the favour. Shin sits on the other side of me. He's tense. He must think I'm going to attack Hachi or something, that moron. Yasu is already on the phone with the building manager, apologizing and offering to pay for the damages. It wasn't reported by any of the neighbours to the front desk- anyone who lived here at this hotel weren't the type to snitch.

I mindlessly watch Yasu, not daring to look at anyone else in the room. Yasu thanks the person on the other side of the phone, and hangs up.

"Nana?" Hachi asks.

"Hachi, I'll call you a cab. Go home and rest." Yasu says.

"I'm not leaving Nana." Hachi says.

"The stress isn't good for the baby." Shin says.

"The baby is fine." Hachi said.

"Come on, Hachi. I'll take you back to my room." Nobu says. After a pause, he adds, "I'll stay with Shin in his room."

"Okay." Hachi resigns, "I'll be back later, okay Nana?"

I don't bother to reply.

Shin gets up and offers to help Hachi to her feet, which she accepts. Hachi follows Nobu out the door.

Hachi

I follow Nobu in silence to his room. I look at his back. People probably wouldn't guess it because he's so thin, but he has quite a bit of muscle. I think about the magical night we spent together. How gentle he was, how much he cared about my comfort. The complete opposite of Takumi. Nobu's the first guy who's ever made me feel special.

I start to cry, and do my best to keep it silent. I really want the baby to be Nobu's, but I'm afraid of how Takumi would react if it was.

Nobu stops in front of his room, and pulls out a key from his pocket. He unlocks the door.

"Nobu?" My voice quivers. He turns around, and is alarmed at my tears.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

"I-I'm sorry for this whole mess."

"It's not your fault. Nana's an idiot."

"N-not Nana. W-with Takumi a-and the b-baby."

Nobu pulls me into a hug. He kisses my head.

"It's okay." He says softly.

"No it's not."

Nobu continues to hug me, and he rubs my back. It soothes me. I don't want him to ever let go.

"Hachi?" He says softly.

"What?"

He looks me in the eye with such concern that I start to cry much harder, and it takes everything I have not to look away. My heart speeds up.

Nobu leans in closely and kisses me gently on the lips. After the initial shock, I return it. The kiss was warm and gentle and loving, just like that night. The kiss is also salty, but we ignore it. I could feel his love for me. I gently nibble on his lip, and he pulls me closer to him. I wrap my arms around his neck, and he kisses me with such passion, I think maybe we would be ok.

We only break apart because we get out of breath. After, he leans his forehead against mine.

"We'll figure this out, okay? I won't let him win." He whispers.

I nod and we stand there in each other's arms. I could have stood there with Nobu forever in that hallway. We are beginning to catch our breath. I want to kiss him again, but I can hear someone entering the hallway from the elevator. I pull away from Nobu. He takes my hand and squeezes it gently. I squeeze back. He then leads me into his room. I want to ask him to stay so badly, but it would only hurt both of us if I did. So I watch silently as Nobu leaves the key on the small wall hanger next to the door, and leaves me alone in his room, shutting the door behind him.

I look around Nobu's bedroom, and see his open suitcase on the floor by his bed. I walk over to it. With great difficulty, I bend down and pick up a crumpled t-shirt. I use the bed to help myself stand back up, and put the t-shirt to my nose. It smells like Nobu. I sit on the bed, clutching the t-shirt, and lay down, holding the t-shirt to my nose as I close my eyes.

Nana

I'm in trouble for some reason. I don't remember what, and don't care enough to ask. I just chain smoke on the couch with Shin, and let Yasu deal with it.

Nobu returns alone.

"Where's Hachiko?" I ask.

"Laying down in my room." Nobu replies.

"Nobuo, that's disgusting. At least end a relationship before you put a girl in your bed."

"Shut up, Nana." Nobu snaps.

"What, I didn't know you had the balls to go after her while she was still Takumi's girl."

"Well it's your damn fault she needs to rest and refuses to go home, so why don't you shut the hell up for once?!"

"What the hell are you yelling at me for?" I yell, standing up.

"You might not have realized this, but we _all_ lost Ren! I know that you think that you owned him, but you didn't! He was important to all of us! Yet you don't see the rest of us running around acting like a spoiled brat!"

I walk over and slap Nobu, and storm out of the room.

Nobu

I huff and sit on the couch across from Shin. Guilt instantly overruns me.

"Don't feel bad. She needed to hear those words, even though she didn't want to." Shin says, lighting up another cigarette, "She creates so many messes and leaves Yasu to clean up the aftermath. She had it coming."

"She's been this way since high school. She's just gotten worse over the years," I say, staring at the floor, "Honestly I wonder how Ren put up with it all those years."

"Forget Ren, I was wondering how _you_ put up with it. Ren would joke around to get Nana's goat about her flaws, Yasu didn't mind lecturing Nana if the situation called for it, but you… you just took everything she threw at you. Good on you man for finally standing up for yourself."

I barely have time to process what Shin says next.

"Personally, I blame Nana for Ren's death." Shin says, taking another drag.

"What? Why?"

But Shin doesn't say another word about it.


	2. Chapter 2

Nobu

Shin and I retire to his room. Yasu followed Nana after our spat, but eventually comes to Shin's room.

"Where's Nana?" I ask, my eyes glued to the floor.

"She's with Misato in apartment 707. She doesn't want to see anyone else at the moment. She'll be okay with Misato."

"What are we going to do about her? She's spinning out of control." I ask.

Yasu lights a cigarette and takes a drag, "She keeps ignoring my suggestions that she go see a doctor."

"So force her to go." I say.

"We all know nobody can force Nana to do anything." Shin says, "She wouldn't even see a doctor when Ren suggested it."

"But it's Yasu, he has the best chance. She at least respects you enough to hear what you have to say, most of the time." I say.

"Ren's death has been hard on her. I don't know if she'll ever recover." Yasu says.

I continue to stare at the floor.

"I don't know if I can trust Nana to be around Hachi." I say, "Hachi's pregnant and fragile. Stress isn't good for the baby, right? Nana's so unpredictable… I just don't think it's a good idea for Hachi to spend too much time with Nana."

"But Hachi loves Nana. If we try to keep them apart, Hachi will only worry more." Shin says, "Do you really think you're the father of Hachi's baby?"

"I don't know. But it doesn't matter to me. Even if the child was Takumi's, I'd still want to raise it as my own. I can still love the baby because it's half Hachi."

"It's interesting that you'd say that." Shin says.

I stand up, "I can't stand it anymore. I don't like Hachi being alone. I'm going to go check up on her."

"Is that really a good idea?" Yasu asks.

"Who cares if it's a good idea or not! You don't see Takumi here taking care of her!" I say, and walk off before anyone can say anything else.

I walk back to my own room, I knock on the door. There's no answer. I turn the doorknob. It's open.

"Hachi?" I call.

"Nobu?" Her voice is broken and weak. She has definitely been crying since I left.

"Hachi!" I enter the room, and lock the door behind me. She struggles to sit up in bed, and I go to help her, but I hesitate. But she's struggling so much, so I offer my hand, and my other hand supports her back as she props herself into an upright position.

I kneel next to the bed, "Why are you crying?"

"T-Takumi called. I asked him if he could come home because I miss him, but he said he had to stay in town." She sniffles.

I take her hand. Her hands are icy, and shaking.

"Takumi has been having multiple affairs in England." She whispers.

"How do you know that?" I ask.

"He never really came home before, but now he never comes home. He spends all his time in England if he doesn't have business in Japan. He rarely calls. And-and-" She looked down, ashamed, "I secretly hired a private investigator to follow him around the last time they went to England. The investigator saw him go to different hotels with 4 different women."

"Hachi…" I say. I will never forgive Takumi.

"I requested he started following the women to see where they went. One took multiple trips to a woman's medical clinic. The best guess is she got pregnant, and had an abortion. Takumi never saw her again after that."

I rub her hand with my thumb.

"Nobu, I don't want to be alone." She cries.

"You won't be." I promise. I get into bed with her. She doesn't object.

I lay down, and she rests her head on my chest. Her body is so cold. I hold her closer, and I absentmindedly rub her back.

I kiss her head, and promise her it would be okay.

I wake up to Hachi shaking my shoulder and sobbing. The bed is soaked.

"What's wrong?" I mumble, rubbing my eye, thinking maybe she peed. I lean over to the bedside lamp to turn on the light. I look back at her. There is blood everywhere.

"Oh god." I say, and jump out of bed. I dig around for my cell phone in my jacket pocket, but it's dead.

"Stay there." I say, and run out of the room. I bang on Yasu's room, and he opens the door after a moment.

"What happened?" He asks, alarmed as he registers my bloody clothes.

"Hachi's bleeding everywhere. I think she might've lost the baby."

"Go back to Hachi." He orders as he runs back into his room.

I run back to my room.

"Stay in bed. Help is coming." I say. I go into my closet and change into jeans and a t-shirt. But the blood had soaked through my clothes, and my legs and torso are covered in Hachi's blood.

I look at Hachi. She's still laying in bed, facing away from me. Her skin is pale and sweaty.

I walk over to the bed, and peek over to see Hachi's face. Her face is pale and splotchy, and her eyes are lifeless.

"It's going to be okay. Help is coming." It's all I could manage to say. I don't want to look at Hachi's body without her permission, but I can't tell if she's still bleeding or not. I don't know what's a safe level of bleeding, but my gut tells me this isn't it. I feel helpless, and I don't know what to do. I grab a t-shirt from the floor, and start mopping up the blood on her legs. I tell myself Yasu is responsible, so help will be coming. But is it actually going to be okay? Hachi extends her hand, and I take it. Her hand is so cold. I feel her forehead. She has cold sweats.

A few agonizing minutes later, the EMT arrives, followed by Shin, Miu, Asami, and a few others I recognize as other tenants, and a very disgruntled doorman. He keeps muttering that the agency can take it from here, but everyone knew how well that worked out when Nana had breathing problems and nobody actually called the ambulance.

Yasu's on the phone with someone in the hall, explaining the situation. Most likely Takumi. Takumi always picks up when Yasu calls. He doesn't even do that with Hachi.

I walk near the EMT's, watching them wheel Hachi on a stretcher down to the ambulance outside. I walk with Hachi as far as I'm allowed, but I'm not allowed in the ambulance with her. I look at her. She's somehow got paler, and her breathing is laboured. I watch as she's rolled into the ambulance, and then the ambulance people get in. And then the doors are closed, and they drive away.

Waiting for a taxi is agony, although Yasu assures me we've only been waiting a couple minutes. The doorman's hanging around, and he looks like he wants to yell at us for taking matters into our own hands. But he's scared of Yasu, and doesn't dare. I think he's a little scared of me too as the moment.

I'm the first one in the taxi when it arrives. We give the driver extra money to speed. We reach the hospital in record time, and I go straight to the desk. Nobody tells me anything because I'm not family, and I can't say that I'm the potential father of her unborn baby. That holds no merit. I give up, frustrated, and sit in the sitting area. Yasu's on the phone again. I tap my fingers against the chair until he hangs up.

"What did Takumi say?" I ask bitterly.

"He's on his way. He arranged for one of Reira's good friends from high school, Fujioka Marina, to stay with her while he returns here. Also, don't mention anything about being with Hachi last night."

"Yeah, yeah." I brush off, "I'm not that big of an idiot. What about Nana? Has she been told?"

"No. I called Misato and told her the situation, but I asked her not to tell Nana. I told her to keep Nana busy until this is settled. It should be easy. Nana's still mad from last night."

Yasu has a business meeting shortly, and has to leave. Shin and I stay. We just sit in the waiting room. Takumi arrives an hour later.

"What's Hachi's status?" He asks.

I let Shin field this one, "We don't know. We're not family, so they won't tell us anything."

Takumi walks up to the reception desk and asks.

"Ichinose Nana's had an emergency C-section. She's in the ICU, and her baby is in the NICU." the nurse reads from the computer.

"Am I allowed to see her?" He asks.

"I'll check." She asks, and picks up a phone.

When she hangs up, she says, "Family may go up, as long as you don't upset her."

"Thank you." Takumi receives directions to the ICU, and then walks over to us.

"Since you saved the lives of my wife and child, I won't ask why you were with her last night. But if you do so again, there will be consequences." Takumi says, and promptly walks away.

My heart's being ripped out as I watch Takumi go up to see her, while I'm not allowed to. Who was the one taking care of Hachi last night?

It's pointless for Shin and I to be here, but we don't leave. There is nowhere I could go where I wouldn't be thinking about Hachi being in the hospital anyway. I think Shin feels the same.

Twenty minutes later, Takumi returns.

"I have an unexpected business meeting to attend. You may go up and see her. I've cleared you with the nurse." He says, and I know I don't imagine the small smirk he has while flaunting his power over us yet again.

"Thank you." I manage to spit out, and Shin thanks him as well.

We go up to the ICU. Hachi looks awful. She's deathly pale, and has an oxygen mask. She had been hooked up to an IV that was supplying her with blood.

"Hi." She's barely audible.

My heart lurches. I didn't think she was awake. My knees lock as I avoid falling.

"How are you feeling?" Shin asks softly.

"I'm fine." She says weakly, " They think stress caused the premature birth, but the doctor said there is probably nothing to worry about. He just needs to gain some weight."

"That's really good to hear." Shin says.

"Yeah. It's a boy. I was so sure it was going to be a girl. Takumi wanted it to be a surprise, so we didn't find out the gender until now." Even in her tired state, Hachi glows.

"Congratulations." Shin say.

"Congratulations." I try to say with a smile.

"Thank you. We didn't even have a name picked out if it was a boy. We decided to name him Ren. It only seemed fitting, I think." She says.

"That's a perfect name. You did well." Shin says, encouraging.

"I don't know how Nana will react, but…" Hachi trails off, "How is Nana doing?"

"She's doing fine. She's resting with Misato back in apartment 707. They want you to get better, so rest up, ok?" Shin says.

"I will." Hachi smiles, "I really had no idea I was going to have a boy. I was so sure I was going to have a girl, so I only bought girl stuff."

"You could always raise him as a girl." Shin says, and laughs so effortlessly you wouldn't think something bad happened, "At least until he grows out of the girl clothes."

Hachi smiles, and makes a noise I think is a laugh, "I'd love that. But I don't think Takumi would be too keen on that."

A part of me hates Shin, for always knowing what to say, for being so calm in the midst of chaos. For comforting Hachi when I'm unable to.

"Nobu?"

I look up, and Hachi's looking at me.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Takumi didn't give you a hard time, did he?" She asks.

"No." I say, "Don't worry. He doesn't know about last night. He thinks you slept with Miu last night, and she was the one who found you."

I'm not a good liar, and I'm worried she won't buy the lie. Shin or Yasu definitely wouldn't. But Hachi looks relieved.

"Thank you, Nobu." She says.

I feel disgusted with myself, lying to Hachi, just like Takumi would. And she falls for my lies so easily, just like she does Takumi's.


	3. Chapter 3

Nobu

I've lied to Hachi. In the exact same way Takumi lies to her. It doesn't matter if it was for her benefit. I'm despicable.

Shin has Hachi deep in conversation, and I think it's for my benefit. I have had about as much as I can take, watching Hachi in the bed. So weak and fragile. I turn and head for the door. I waited so long in that hospital room to see her, yet I don't stay even 10 minutes.

When I'm in the doorway, she calls for me, but I pretend I can't hear her. She shouldn't need me. She has her precious Takumi.

All I could wonder is if the baby was actually mine. I had to know.

I found my way to the NICU. I was nervous that a nurse would tell me I wasn't allowed here, but nobody bothered me.

My heart stopped when I took in the baby incubators. All the tubes and IVs that were attached to the tiny babies within them. The heart monitors beeping away. It looked like some sick science experiment.

Ichinose, Ren. I didn't need to look at his nameplate to recognize him. He looked exactly like me when I was a baby.

He was hooked up to a breathing tube, and had an IV dripping into his tiny pale arm. If it wasn't for his chest moving weakly up and down, I couldn't have been sure he was alive.

I checked his name again. Ichinose, Ren. This couldn't be him. There had to be another one.

"Nurse?" I asked. She was working on a baby a row rows away from me.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Is there another Ichinose Ren?" I asked.

"No. There's only one." She said.

So this was my- Takumi's- Hachi's baby.

The baby barely had hair to speak of, but what little he had was light. I couldn't tell the exact colour. He could've inherited Hachi's hair. Or my hair.

But it didn't matter if Ren is mine or not. He'll always belong to Takumi.

Why does Trapnest have to take away everything I love?

Nana O:

"Misato." I called from my room.

I heard the worn couch squeak. Her footsteps grew closer, and she opened the door a crack.

"Yes, Nana?"

"I need another pack of cigarettes."

"Er… okay."

"Not Seven Stars."

"What brand then?" She asked.

"Anything else is fine."

Misato shut the door, and I was left alone again in the dark.

What was I supposed to do? Nobu was the one who got me all upset. Ren was mine. He couldn't belong to anyone else.

A surge of anger rushed through me. What the hell was Ren's deal, anyway? Why did that bastard have to go and die? What was he meeting Reira for anyway? It was my birthday, and he was my fiance. She had no business being with him.

I sat up. I need a cup of coffee.

I left my bedroom and turned on the kettle in the kitchen. I started out the window until the kettle started whistling.

Nobu was an asshole, trying to take Ren for himself. Ren's mine. He's always been mine. I'll arrange for my grave to be next to his. He'll be mine forever. Nobu can go die in a hole.

I take out the instant coffee, and dump a spoonful into a mug. I reach for the kettle. The steam slowly rising out of it. It was so hot. If I were to pour it on my skin, my skin would blister and boil…

Don't be stupid. I poured the water into the mug and let it sit.

Ren and I used to have that pact… I made him swear that if I died, he'd have to follow me. I made the same pact. I thought I didn't want to follow him anymore… but would I? I told him directly I wouldn't follow him anymore, but I only said that to make him… I don't know, angry? Why did I do that? I know in my heart, I'd follow him in a heartbeat. Even if that meant following him into death.

I walk over to the window, and step up onto the table. The windows open, but there are bars to prevent jumping. I look at the screws to keep the bars in place, and they're pretty thin. A screwdriver would easily remove them. Hell, if I kicked the bars hard enough over and over, eventually the screws would probably fall out themselves. But I need elegance in my death. I'll buy a screwdriver.

I then looked at the ground below me. I'm not a doctor, but nobody could survive a fall from 7 levels, could they?

7 stories tall, apartment 707, 7 stars, Nana.

The apartment door opens, and Misato had returned. I was barely aware.

"Nana!" Misato screeches, dropping the convenience store bag, and ran to the table. She grabs hold onto my leg.

The earth stands still for a minute.

"Bring me the cigarettes." I say.

Misato doesn't take her eyes off me as she backs up, retrieves the cigarettes, and brings me the bag.

"Don't you know cigarettes kill?! What the hell!" I throw the cigarettes out the window, "And how the hell did you buy those anyway? You're a minor!"

Misato looks flustered, "I met up with Yasu, and he bought them for me."

"Yasu. Baldy's gonna die if he doesn't quit that disgusting habit." I collapse onto the table, and cry into my knees.

"Nana…" Misato says, and she holds me close, but I couldn't feel her warmth.


	4. Chapter 4

Hachi:

I was a mother. I had a child. Ren's my son. No matter how I worded it, it sounded weird. I thought about my mom growing up, how she was so warm and loving, and always seemed to know what to say to make me feel better. I'd never be able to take on a role like that. I never thought about my mom having problems. I thought that I was the only one who had them. I now had to wonder what kind of problems my mom had that she pushed aside for my sake.

The hospital contacted my family. My mom and Nao will be here tomorrow. I didn't know how I'd face them, or how to explain why Takumi wasn't here with me and Ren. He's a busy rock star. I think my mom and Nao would understand, but he'd definitely have to answer to my dad if he was here. I kinda wish my dad would come, so Takumi would have to explain why.

Shin is the one who stays with me the most. Nobu came once, but didn't stay long. He just left, and hasn't been back. I wish he was here with me. Yasu stopped by, but he couldn't stay long either. Nana and Misato haven't come. Takumi hasn't come either. I feel sad Junko hasn't come seen me either, but then I remember nobody has told her.

"Shin." I ask.

"What is it, Hachi?" He asks, squeezing my hand gently.

"Junko…" I say.

"Ok." He says, and leaves the room.

I fall asleep, and wake up an hour later to Junko and Kyosuke in the doorway, holding a coffee tray and a thermos. Shin's still sitting by my bedside, reading a novel in English.

"Hi guys." I greet.

"Look who had the baby." Jun says, and Kyosuke follows her into the room, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good." I say, "How are you?"

Jun puts her hand on my forehead. Her hands feel warm against my cool sweaty skin.

"I'm fine." She brushes off.

"We brought you broth and tea." Kyosuke says.

"That sounds perfect." I say.

Shin presses a button on the bed and it moves up, so I'm in a sitting up position, and then he helps me get comfortable, fluffing my pillow and readjusting my blankets. Kyosuke gives me the broth, and I take a sip.

"Mmm, thank you so much." I say.

Jun takes an empty chair, and sits next to my bed. Kyosuke gives coffees to Shin and Jun, and then takes a seat with his own drink in hand.

"So, was it a boy or a girl?" Jun asks.

"Boy." I say.

"Ooh, just like Takumi wanted." Jun says enthusiastically, "Did you even have a boy name picked out?"

"No. I was so sure it was going to be a girl." I say, disappointed, "All the baby stuff I bought was pink. But Takumi gets everything he wants, so I think it's natural the baby was a boy."

"The next one will be a girl, I'm sure." Kyosuke reassures.

"Oh yes, I'll definitely have a girl next. No doubts about it." I say.

Junko laughs, "So what did you name him?"

"Ren." I say.

"That's a good name." Kyosuke says.

"Yeah… I don't know how Nana will feel about it, but all of Trapnest and everyone else in Blast gave us their blessing." I say, "I tried to think of other names, but nothing else seemed to fit him." I said, "He's our little Ren, a little rebel rouser."

Jun and Kyosuke stayed for another hour, and then had to go to an art gallery opening. Shin stayed until the nurses kicked him out, with a promise to come again tomorrow.

"Shin?" I ask, as he was leaving.

"Yeah?" He asks, stopping in the doorway, looking back at me.

"Can you… apologize to Nobu for me?" I ask, pulling the blanket up to my face.

"Will do." Shin says, "But he's not mad at you, Hachi. Nobu could never be mad at you."

"I still feel bad though." I say.

Shin blows me a kiss, and I give him one back.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He says with a wink, and he's gone.

I rearrange myself in bed, getting comfortable. A nurse enters, holding my little Ren.

"Are you ready to try breastfeeding again?" The nurse asked.

"Yes." I said, reaching out for my newborn.

I hold him close to me, and position myself to feed him. I feel his heartbeat against my torso. It's strong, and healthy. It takes some time, but he latches on okay, and starts to feed. After Ren is settled, the nurse leaves.

My baby barely has any hair, so I didn't know what colour hair he has. It looks light, but I don't know the colour. I look at his face, to see if he resembles Takumi or Nobu, but I think my baby took after me. I can't tell who his father is just by looking at him. I sort of hope that as he grew older, he'll start to resemble his father, so I'll know but… what if he looked like Nobu…? The thought was too painful to bear, and I shoved it from my mind.

Ren finishes feeding, and I burp him, and then hold him into my arms again. He starts whimpering, and I gently rock him, humming a lullaby my mom hummed to me when I was sick. He quietens down, and watches me with wide curious eyes.

This baby is definitely Takumi's. He absolutely had to be. Takumi claims Ren as his own. He wouldn't claim a child that is not his.

Nobu:

I go straight to a bar from the hospital. It's a dive, which is weird because it's in a good part of town. The lighting is poor because of burnt out lightbulbs and flickering lights. There's tacky artwork on the wall. The waitresses are obvious transvestites. One lightly flirts with me and calls me sugar. I don't care. I don't care about anything right now.

I'm on my fourth beer when Shin takes a seat next to me. He reeks of marijuana. He's carrying 3 shots.

"The baby's not mine." I say.

Shin takes a shot.

"It doesn't matter, even if it is yours." Shin said.

"I know. Takumi will take Nana, even if Ren's mine." I said bitterly, "I don't understand. He doesn't love her like I do."

"Men like Takumi aren't capable of healthy love." Shin said, "They thrive on hurting others, pushing them beyond their breaking points. How else do you think he got his band as far as he did?"

I drain my beer, "How could Hachi be with a man like that?"

"Because she had no choice." Shin says.

He's right. The moment Hachi slept with Takumi, he considered her his property, even if he threw her away like a piece of trash. I ordered another beer.

"I wonder if Asami would take me back, if I went back to her, crawling on my knees." I ask out loud, longingly.

Shin laughs, "She'd let you do that, just to see you grovel. That girl has a lot of pride. She'd never take you back."

I buried my head in my arms on the table.

"I had a perfectly good relationship, and I threw it all away-"

"For the woman you love." Shin said, "Asami's not stupid. She saw how much you cared for Hachi."

"So that's it, is it? I'll die alone?" I ask, "Maybe I can go back to my family, work at the hotel. Live my life celibate, like a priest, mourning lost love."

"Yeah maybe." Shin says, "Or meet a few girls, play the field. You'll forget her in no time."

"You don't actually believe that, do you? Hachi is my goddess."

"Just trying to make you feel better bro." He said.

I look around the bar. Almost everyone here was an old dude.

"If we're going to pick up chicks, we'll have to find a better place to do it." I say.

Shin stands up, and throws back the rest of his shots, "Let's go."

We take the train to another club that was 2 stations away, called the Juice Room. I don't want to know what they meant by juice, but Shin knows it, which makes it more suspicious. But I don't care, so I let him lead the way.

When we get there, the line goes around the block. Shin ignores it, and walks right up to the bouncer. He shows his fake ID, and I pull out my real ID. The bouncer looks me over, and it looks like he wants to reject me, but Shin discreetly slips money into his hand, and the bouncer lets us in.

There are rainbow strobe lights moving back and forth in the packed crowd, and a live band playing alternative rock on the stage, with a female singer. I do a double take because the girl looks like Hachi. I blink several times, and look back at the girl. She has wavy blonde hair and is definitely not as cute as Hachi. I think I've been around professional singers too much, because the girl is mediocre at best. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood. But the music's loud, and has a good beat.

"Take your pick. Girls here are easy." Shin says.

"Shin!" I say, mortified at how blunt he is.

He grins, "Don't worry, none of them heard me."

He disappears in the crowd, and I'm on my own. I thought we would pick up girls together. Shin is smooth enough that he can easily do it by himself, but I need a wingman, especially when I'm drunk and stupid. I've never been good at getting girls.

I get a drink from the bar, and dance into the crowd. I look around, but all the girls I see are either in a group, or here with guys. I have no idea how I could approach one. It'd look weird if I approached a girl if she left her friends to go to the bathroom or something.

Four or five songs pass and two drinks later, I wonder if I should go home, when a finger taps on my shoulder.

"Heya, cutie." A voice says.

I turn around. The girl's familiar. She has a rough chin-length cut, her hair a nice dark honey colour, a giant smile on her face. She's wearing purple eye contacts.

"I thought that was you, Nobu." She says.

It takes me a minute, but I recognize her. I don't know her name, but she was a regular at the record shop where I used to work.

"Hey you." I say, slightly shy.

She grins, "Kana."

"Kana." I repeat.

"Kana." She repeats brightly, "Are you here to meet a girl?"

"Yes." I say, slightly baffled.

"You've met one. Let's go." She says, grabbing my hand roughly, leading me out of the club.

She takes me to a residential area nearby, and up to her apartment. It's a mess, mostly clothes and hair accessories and some food wrappers on the wood floor. She owns an actual mattress, with a blanket and pillows haphazardly on top. It looks comfortable.

She rips off her clothes before I can do anything, and then she starts undoing mine, breaking a few buttons from my shirt. I remove my pants and boxers, and Kana jumps on me, pinning me to the bed, kissing me with such passion that I've never experienced in my entire life.

"I know how to make this more exciting." She whispers in my ear, nibbling on it.

The blood was already rushing through me, and I don't know how she could make it more exciting. She jumps off me and goes to a dresser against the wall. She rummages through it, and pulls out a bag of white powder and a needle. She also picks up the lighter and spoon that are sitting on the desser's top.

Kana brings the items to the bed, and digs the spoon into the white powder. She then flicks on the lighter, holding it to the underside of the spoon, which melts the white powder into a dark honey coloured liquid that matches her hair. She takes the needle, and fills it with the liquid.

"We don't have to do this to have fun." I say, slightly nervous.

"Shh, shh, shh." She says, grabbing my arm, "It'll be more fun this way. Trust me."

She injects it into my arm with a sharp careless stab, and presses down on the plunger. I feel woozy, and the room around me starts spinning more than it already was. I feel the needle slide out of me. I daze in and out, riding the wave, when I hear her moan next to me, and I look at her. She's stuck herself with the needle in her arm, and she's thoroughly enjoying it. She throws the needle to the floor, pushes me back down onto the bed, and rides me to heaven.

But when I look at her face through my drug and alcohol induced haze, all I can see is Hachi.


End file.
